Ice crushing machine



March 18, 1941. P. F. KOCH ICE CRUSHING MACHINE Filed Jan. 13, 1940 Patented Mar. 18, 1941 PATENT OFFICE IC'E'CRUSHING MAOH'IN E Paul-F. Koch, Oak Park, Ill.,asslgnor to-Chicago Die CastingManufacturing Company, a corporation of Illinois Application January 13, 1940, Serial No. 313,691

8 Claims.

The present invention has forits object'to produce a simple and novel machine for crushing small chunks of ice as, for example, ice cubes formed in household refrigeratorsso 'asto break them up into smaller masses or bo'diesb'e'st suited for cooling beverages.

The various features of novelty whereby my invention is characterized will hereinafter be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for a full understanding of my invention and of its objects and advantagesreference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing-wherein:

Figure 1 is a view partly in side elevation, and partly in vertical section, illustrating a machine embodying the invention in a preferred form; Fig. 2 is a top plan view'of the machine, with the upper half of the casing removed; and Figsfi3, 4 and 5 are sections taken respectively on lines 33, 4-4 and 5-5 of Fig. 1.

In the construction illustrated in the drawing there is a capsule-like casing divided'on a horizontal plane into lower and upper halves l and 2, respectively. The main or forward'portion of the casing is cylindrical, while the rear portion diminishes in diameter from front "to rear. The two halves of the casing are secured together by means of four screws 3 extending upwardly, from below, through screw holes 4 in the lower half. The rear end of the casing rests'upon and is attached to a pedestal 5 rising from'a suitable base 6; the base extending forwardly underneath the main portion of the casing. The parts are so proportioned that when the machine rests on a table or the like, there is room below the front end of the casing for a drinking glass or other container, so that crushed ice may drop into the latter, as it is formed, through an opening "1 in the bottom of the casing. The particular j base illustrated is one in which the forward extension is in the form of two arms arranged inthe shape of a V, so that an ordinary glass will be'supported in its ice-receiving position by the table or other thing on which the machine stands; the-arms of the base serving as guidingand centering devices when a glass is being placed in positions In the front end of the casing is a stationary, transverse partition 8 arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the casing, and provided with a number of short pointed projections 9, extending rearwardly from the face of the-partition and preferably arranged in two. parallel, diagonal rows, as shown in Fig. 3. In the .rear

end of the cylindrical portion of the casingis a disk 10 parallel to the partition 8. This disk has across the same. as that on which the blade or vane is located are several pointed projections l2 of greater length than the width or height of the blade or vane,

movement. sufficiently smaller than the bore in the stem l4 on the side facing the partition a blade or vane H of flattened S shape extending diametrically On the same side of the disk arranged along a diameter at right angles to the general direction of the vane or blade.

The disk is fixed to the forward end of a tubu- -lar stem l4 provided with coarse, external screw threads l5. formed in the rear portion of the lower half of the casing, not-far behind the disk when the stem This stem rests in alittle saddle I6 abuts against the rear end of the casing,-as shown in Fig. l. Telescoped within the tubular stem is a square shaft ll having a cylindrical rear end "section [8 that forms a journal rotatably to support the square shaft section. The part l8 projects'outwardly beyond the rear end of the casing and there has attached thereto a handle [9 for turning the same.

The shoulder formed at the junctureof the square and round sections of the shaft [1 engages with the inner face of the rear end wall of the casing, while the hub of the handle engages with the outer face of that wall.

Thus the shaft I1 is held against lengthwise The body portion of the shaft I1 is to provide room within the stem for a compression spring 20 that surrounds the shaft. The* forward end of the spring bears against a head or fiangell on the forward end of the shaft [1, while the rear end of the spring abuts against a plug 22 fixed in the rear end of the stem and having therein an openingin which the shaft fits so as to permit the stem and the shaft to move threaded stem be provided, the stem section of the compound shaft may be caused to move lengthwisein one direction or the other, depending upon the direction in which 'thehandle is "turned. In this way the .disk may be rotated while being driven through a working stroke toward the partition which constitutes an anvil or 'a crushing member, and thereafter be retracted through a return stroke, by simply turning'cthe operating handle. While it is advisable that theforward movement of the disk or mov-' able crushing member be fairly slow, the ordinary user would dislike a correspondingly slow retraction or return of the crushing member, necessitating the turning of the handle backwards through a considerable number of revolutions. It is to permit a quick return of the movable crushing member to its starting point that I have made the operating shaft sectional and provided the spring which is placed under compression while the movable crushing member completes a working stroke.

In order for the crushing member II to move toward the stationary crushing member, it-is necessary to bring into action the screw thread l5. This may be done by providing a nut device which remains stationary during a working stroke and which may be disengaged at will to permit the spring to carry the movable crushing member back to the starting point by a rectilinear movement. The nut may be simply a dog which, in its working position, engages with the screw thread on the telescopic shaft, but which may be withdrawn from such engagement, at will. In the arrangement illustrated, I have made use of a door through which the ice is introduced into the casing, to cause the dog to be engaged with and disengaged from the screw thread. The top of the cylindrical portion. of the casing has a door opening extending throughout the entire length thereof and of much greater width than the discharge opening in the bottom. Associated with this door opening is a door 24 connected at its forward end to the upper half of the casing by a hinge pin 25. Fixed to the under side of the door, at the rear or free end, is a dog in the form of a finger 26 which, when the door is closed, enters the valleyof the thread on the stem section of the operating shaft. Therefore, as long as the door is closed, the turning of the operating handle causes the screw threaded stem and the crushing member to move lengthwise of the casing, in one direction or the other. In Fig. 1 the two crushing members are shown as spread a maximum distance apart, the rear end of the tubular stem abutting against the rear end wall of the casing, and the door being closed so that the dog or finger 26 is operatively engaged in the screw thread. Now, by turning the handlein the clockwise direction, viewingthe machine from the rear, the screw-threaded stem is slowly driven forward at the same time that it is turning. The pitch of the thread is preferably such that whenever the turning movement stops, the movable crushing member remains in the position which it then occupies, so that the movable crushing member may be retracted by turning the handle backward. However, by swinging the door up, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the dog or finger 26 is freed from the screw thread and the spring immediately comes into play to move the stem and its crushing member back to the starting point.

It will thus be seen that whenever the door of the casing is open, so that ice may be introduced into the casing, the movable crush-ing member will be at the rear end of the crushing compartact of opening the door for the admission of ice insures the return of the movable crushing member to its starting point if it be not already there.

In order to prevent accidental backward tuming of the handle after the movable crushing member has been retracted, and thus objection ably stressing the dog 26 and other parts of the machine, I place a pin 21, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, in the valley of the thread at such a point that it will engage with the dog or finger and preventbackward turning of the shaft at times when the movable crushing member is in its idle, retracted position.

As heretofore explained, the disk-like partition 8 is preferably a separate piece. In the arrangement shown, there is a disk-like member having a peripheral groove 28 extending around at least the lower half of the same. The casing is provided with an internal rib or flange 29 which enters this groove and prevents the member 8 from moving lengthwise of the casing. The groove may continue into the upper half of the member 8, and the flange into the upper halfof the casing. In any event, by having the groove extend only part way around the partition, the upper ends of the rib or flange may be made to serve as stops to prevent rotation of the partition.

The operation of the machine has, perhaps, been sufficiently explained in connection with the foregoing description of the construction of themachine. Briefly stated, a glass or other container having been placed under the discharge outlet, the door is raised and a large chunk or cube of ice is inserted. The mere act of opening the door insures that the movable crushing member is out of the way because the spring irmnediately shifts it into its idle position if it is not already there. Upon closing the door, the screw device is made effective to drive the movable crushing element slowly forward while being rotated. This causes the ice to be crushed and the smaller pieces, as they are formed, to drop down into the waiting glass or other container. As the crushing members approach closer and closer toeach other, the cracking up of the ice continues until no large pieces remain. While the working faces of the crushing members may take different shapes from those illustrated, I have found that the type illustrated results in the reduction of large pieces of ice mainly into little chunks that do not melt as rapidly as do powdered or ice scrapings.

- It will be seen that the casing is of such size and shape that it can readily be grasped to hold the machine steady while the handle is being turned, if the ice should be particularly hard or if the ice chamber were charged with an excessive amount of ice.

While I have illustrated and described with particularity only a single preferred form of my invention, I do not desire to be limited to the exact structural details thus illustrated and described, but intend to cover all forms and arrangements-which come within the definitions of my invention constituting the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An ice crushing machine comprising a casing, a rotatable shaft section extending into said casing and having a handle on the outer end, a second shaft section within the casing in telescoped relation to the first shaft section and interlocked therewith against relative rotary movements, a stationary crushing element in the casing, a' cooperating movable crushing member carried on one end of said second shaft section, the second shaft section having external screw threads, and a stationary element adapted to engage with said screw threads and cause the second shaft section to move lengthwise on the first section when the handle is turned.

2. In an ice crushing machine, a casing containing a stationary crushing member and a rotatable crushing member movable from and toward the stationary member, a handle on the exterior of the casing, a shaft connected at one end to the handle and at the other end to the movable crushing member, said shaft being composed of two sections slidable lengthwise relatively to each other and interlocked against relative rotary movements, and means to cause the section attached to the movable crushing member to move lengthwise in a direction to carry the movable crushing member toward the stationary crushing member.

3. In an ice crushing machine, a casing containing a stationary crushing member and a rotatable crushing member movable from and toward the stationary member, a handle on the exterior of the casing, a shaft connected at one end to the handle and at the other end to the movable crushing member, said shaft being composed of two sections slidable lengthwise relatively to each other and interlocked against relative rotary movements, means to cause the section attached to the movable crushing member to move lengthwise in a direction to carry the movable crushing member toward the stationary crushing member, and a spring to drive the latter shaft section in the opposite direction.

4. In an ice crushing machine, a casing, a shaft section extending through a wall of the casing and being rotatable and held against lengthwise movement, a handle for turning the said shaft section, a second shaft section in slidable telescoped relation to the inner end of the first section and interlocked therewith to prevent relative rotary movements, a crusher member on the second shaft section, a spring cooperating with the shaft sections and tending to hold the shaft in a contracted condition, the second shaft section having external screw threads, and a dog movable into and out of engagement with said screw threads.

5. An ice crushing machine comprising a casing, a rotatable shaft section extending into said casing and having a handle on the outer end, a second shaft section within the casing in telescoped relation to the inner end of the first shaft section and interlocked therewith against relative rotary movements, a crushing member carried on one end of said second shaft section, the

second shaft section having external screw threads, an element adapted to be moved from an idle position into engagement with said screw threads and cause the second shaft section to move lengthwise on the first section and drive the crushing member through a working stroke when the handle is turned in one direction, and a spring to drive the crushing member and the second shaft section through a return stroke,

when the aforesaid element is shifted into its idle position.v

6. 'In an ice crushing machine, a casing, a shaft section extending through a wall of the casing and being rotatable and held against lengthwise movement, a handle for turning the said shaft section, a second shaft section in slidable telescoped relation to the inner end of the first section and interlocked therewith to prevent relative rotary movements, a crusher member on the second shaft section, a spring cooperating with the shaft sections and tending to hold the shaft in a contracted condition, the second shaft section having external screw threads, a door in the casing, and a dog carried by the door and movable into and out of engagement with said screw threads when the door is closed and opened, respectively.

7. In an ice crushing machine, a casing, a stationary crushing member and a cooperating rotatable crushing member in the casing, means for moving the rotatable member toward the stationary member, each of said members having spikes projecting from the face directed toward the other member, and a single vane or blade extending diametrically across the spike-bearing face of the movable member at the middle.

8. An ice crushing machine comprising a casing having a door, a stationary crushing memher and a cooperating movable crushing member in the casing, a movable handle on the eX- terior of the casing, a shaft comprising two sections telescoped upon each other connectin the handle and the movable crushing member together, the section at the handle end of the shaft being held against endwise movement while the second section is slidable lengthwise thereof and held against turning movements relative thereto, a spring tending constantly to hold said,

second section telescoped upon the first section to amaximum degree, a screw power device including a screw thread on said second section of the shaft and an element complementary to said thread, and means for causing said element to be moved away from said thread when the door is opened and into working relation to the thread when the door is closed. PAUL F. KOCH.- 

